Not Applicable
The present invention concerns a device for use in the practice of the sport called Bodysurfing, and as a general swimming aid.
The sport of bodysurfing consists in riding (surfing) the ocean waves with the own body. To practice this sport the bodysurfer swims strongly with the passing wave in order to xe2x80x9ccatchxe2x80x9d it, after which he raises his head above the water level and rides the wave with his body, selectedly leaving his arms behind or extending one or both arms in front of him, generally merely touching or slightly leaning one hand over the water""s surface.
The main difficulty bodysurfers find is that of being left behind by the waves because of insufficient speed; a problem caused by the fact that almost the whole body of the bodysurfer (except for the head and eventually the arms) travels under the water""s surface, offering too much drag. The prior art has proposed some devices intended to assist the bodysurfer in riding the waves, by offering him an alternative leaning point for the hand over the surface of the water. However this bodysurfing devicesxe2x80x94mainly xe2x80x9cHandboardsxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cHand finsxe2x80x9dxe2x80x94have not proven to be sufficiently effective in terms of overall performance, security of use and visual attractivity, for the following reasons:
1. They are held and guided with only one hand.
(U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,842 xe2x80x9cSurfing Devicexe2x80x9d offers the possibility of placing the free hand directly over a top covering the hand that holds and guides the device; U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,551 xe2x80x9cBodysurfing and swimming aidxe2x80x9d and U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,911 xe2x80x9cHandboardsxe2x80x9d suggest the use of two separate devices, one for each hand).
The single pressure-control point thus determined limits the device""s steerability because the hand (or hands) concentrate in one single point, and does not provide sufficient speed because there""s a limit to the maximum width of the hydroplaning surface under such single pressure-control point. In case of using two separate devices (U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,551 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,911) it must be observed that when maneuvers are made it is only the device of the hand corresponding to the side towards which one is turning that actually works. Also, it is practically impossible to maintain two separate devices always completely aligned when riding a wave.
2. They are secured to the hand that holds them.
(In the case of U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,911 xe2x80x9cHandboardsxe2x80x9d by means of straps; in the cases of U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,551 xe2x80x9cBodysurfing and swimming aidxe2x80x9d and U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,842 xe2x80x9cSurfing Devicexe2x80x9d the hand enters inside a compartment that is part of the device itself).
The fact of having the hand confined inside a compartment or however secured to the device can cause wrist torsions in case of sudden violent movements (for example when being caught by the wave after missing a maneuver, or when the wave suddenly closes out); in such cases it may be difficult or even impossible to liberate the hand from the device. Having the device somehow fixed to the hand also difficults the free-style swimming necessary to get in position among the waves.
3. They have peculiar, sui generis, shapes.
(U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,842 xe2x80x9cSurfing Devicexe2x80x9d: xe2x80x9cgeneral teardrop shapexe2x80x9d; U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,911 xe2x80x9cHandboardsxe2x80x9d: xe2x80x9cextremely rounded isosceles trianglexe2x80x9d; U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,551 xe2x80x9cBodysurfing and swimming aidxe2x80x9d: xe2x80x9cHand fin of streamlined shape ( . . . ) with a longer outer rail and a shorter inner railxe2x80x9d.
Thus these objects appear somewhat esthetically strange, and are difficult to recognize for the general public.
Even if bodysurfing may not be an easy sport to practice (one needs to be a good swimmer and know the ocean), it is considered that the inefficiencies presented by the devices of the prior art can explainxe2x80x94at least partiallyxe2x80x94why the sport of bodysurfing has not developed as much as its closest related sports, surfing and bodyboarding.
The present invention is the result of its author""s twenty-year international experience in the design and construction of devices for wave riding sports (bodysurfing, bodyboarding, kneeboarding, surfing and windsurfing (wave)).
The main object of the present invention is to contribute to the development of the sport of Bodysurfing, by providing a device that offers optimal efficiency in terms of overall performance, safety of use and visual attractivity, for users of both sexes. It is another object of the present invention to provide a device that can be used as an efficient swimming aid.
The present invention, which is called TWO-HAND BODYSURFING AND SWIMMING AID, comprises a floating body which further comprises the following three other elements: a handling system on its top surface, which permits to hold and guide the device with the two hands placed one beside the other in the horizontal level; a system of directional fins on the tail area of its bottom surface; and a gadget intended for the tying of a security cord placed (preferably but not exclusively) in the tail area of its top surface.
The optimal efficiency of the present invention in terms of overall performance derives from the fact that during bodysurfing it is guided and controlled with the two hands placed one beside the other in the horizontal level. This causes the upper half of the body to travel in a position equivalent to an elongated gymnastical push-up performed over the invention""s handling system, above the water""s surface more or less from the waist up (depending on the actual trajectory). A xe2x80x9cwave-riding binomialxe2x80x9d is formed by the invention and the user""s body, in which the invention rides the wave supported by the weight of the upper half of the user""s body, and complemented by the lower half of the user""s body, which remains inside the water giving the necessary extra drag and steering capability. The natural advantages of this system are greater speed (because there is a big enough hydroplaning surface under the hands and a smaller portion of the body that travels inside the water, giving less resistance) as well as total control and steerability (because the invention is firmly held and controlled with the two hands placed horizontally one beside the other, grabbing the aforementioned handling system).
The optimal security of use of the invention is due to the fact that the hands are not confined in it or fixed to it in any way, but are independent from it. There is no risk of wrist torsions during critical moments (for example when missing a maneuver or when the wave closes out), because the invention is firmly held with the two hands, and consequently it can be easily kept with or pushed aside. In this last case (when the invention has been pushed aside) once the wave has gone it can be easily reached by pulling the security cord which ties it to the user""s waist (the system of a security cord is also used in surfboards and bodyboards).
The optimal visual attractivity of the invention is due to the fact that its floating body resembles a surfboard or windsurf in miniature, even if proportionally wider and with a different thickness distribution. In such way the invention profits from the xe2x80x9cgood looksxe2x80x9d of those boards, being easily identifiable by the public as an object made for riding waves.
The user enters the ocean with the invention secured to his waist by means of the aforementioned xe2x80x9csecurity cordxe2x80x9d, which prevents him from losing the invention in the surf.
There are three ways or styles in which to swim with the invention; the user may choose one depending on his level of expertise, and on his actual physical state (more or less tired). These are the following:
1. The invention is held in front of the body with both hands; thus the upper part of the body leans over the invention, and the swimmer paddles only with his legs.
2. The invention is held in front of the body with only one hand; the swimmer paddles with his legs and one arm.
3. The swimmer swims in a normal free-style, using both arms and both legs to paddle, literally towing the inventionxe2x80x94which is secured to his waist by the security cordxe2x80x94behind his body.
Once in position, to catch a wave the user must swim strongly with the two legs and one arm, meanwhile holding the invention and keeping it pointed forward with the other arm and hand. As soon as he catches the wave the user must raise his head and quickly take the free arm and hand forward in order to grab the invention""s handling system also with that hand.
The wave is ridden by holding and guiding the device with both hands placed one beside the other in the horizontal level, grabbing the invention""s handle.